by Mary Coffin
~~~
Morten returned to his special cave and, through the bubbles, observed that the Guardians and the Brethren were on the move again. To make matters even more serious, Draevil was accompanying the Brethren. He hadn’t observed Elwyn with the Brethren, so he knew she hadn’t returned to join them. He doubted that Draevil would take her back anyway. He hoped that she had learned her lesson and was simply living out a quiet life someplace.
As for the rest of them, Morten was getting tired of this battle for power. He appreciated that Gwynn destroyed the journal but the current threat was still very real and something needed to be done…something with a longer term effect. As he watched the scene play out before him, he figured they had less than a day to prepare.
He left the grotto above his room and headed to the training cave. It was empty. He walked through the tunnels on the way to the dining hall, to find Silas, when he ran into Garmund.
“Garmund, have you seen Silas?”
“Last I saw, he was heading outside, sir.”
“Thank you.” Morten started walking away and then turned to face his friend. “Oh, Garmund.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I want you to lay low tomorrow. It might get a little intense outside. There will be plenty of guards inside but I would feel better if you stayed out of harm’s way.”
Garmund nodded his understanding. “Yes, Morten.”
Morten continued through the tunnels and walked outside to the pine grove. He glanced at the few Overseers that were enjoying the outdoors and then he spotted Silas, who was sitting on a large flat rock on the edge of the grove, overlooking the valley to the north. Morten approached.
“How are you doing, Silas?”
He knew that Silas and Gwynn had been romantically involved in her early years with the Overseers and his observations of Silas, since Gwynn had returned, confirmed that Silas still had feelings for her. Every time Gwynn was in the vicinity, Silas lit up…not visibly but Morten could see his energy brighten.
Silas glanced at Morten. “I’m fine.”
Morten set his hand on Silas’s shoulder. “She will be missed.”
Silas let his gaze get lost in the valley down below. “Yes, she will.”
Morten sat next to him on the rock. “I wish I didn’t have to say this but the Brethren and the Guardians are headed this way again. Only, this time, Draevil is accompanying the Brethren. We need to be in position in the morning. We’re going to use the rods.”
Silas looked at Morten. “Seriously?”
Morten couldn’t interfere with a person’s free will but, in matters that caused widespread harm, there was always a line to be drawn. He didn’t enjoy vaporizing people, abruptly ending their life, and sending their spirit off to the next experience. In an ideal situation, he preferred to see a person learn from their experience and willingly choose to modify their behavior. That was the choice he hoped that Elwyn was making.
As for the forces of dark and light, he knew it was unrealistic to expect them to be anything other than what they were. They would always seek more power but Morten vowed to protect certain things in the world and to keep the darkness and the light from causing widespread destruction. The forces had been pursuing the crystal and had been a threat to the fairies for generations. It was tough for him to make this call but it was one step toward leveling the playing field, at least for awhile. Besides, an Overseer had sacrificed her life to diminish this conflict. He didn’t want to lose any others.
“Yes. It’s time to put an end to this. I will alert the fairies tonight but keep it to yourself for now. The others will have a more restful night if they don’t know. We’ll arm everyone first thing in the morning.”
“Of course.”
Morten stood to leave. “I’ll offer something to Loki to help her sleep tonight. She won’t be much help unless she gets some rest and we will need all of our forces this time. I must take care of Gwynn.”
“Maybe it would be better for Loki if she took care of Gwynn,” Silas said.
“Good idea,” replied Morten. Then he studied Silas for a moment. “Perhaps you should join her. It would give you closure as well.”
Silas glanced at Morten and then turned back to the view below him. “I’ll be fine.”